GONCHAROVA Nataliya Sergeevna

Russian artist, graphic artist, book illustrator, stage designer, outstanding representative of Russian avant-garde.

She came from the Goncharov family, the descendants of Pushkin’s wife Nataliya Goncharova’s brother. She is the daughter of Moscow architect S. M. Goncharov. In1901, she entered the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture where she studied sculpture under Volnukhin and Trubetskoi, painting under Korovin. In 1907-1911, she took to folk art, Russian popular rural and urban print lubok, ancient Russian icon painting. In 1910, together with Mikhail Larionov, Goncharova became one of the founders of the Bubnovy Valet [“The Jack of Diamonds”] Society; in 1911–1912, she was a member of the Osliny Khvost [“Donkey’s Tail’] group, in 1913, of the Mishen [“Target”] group. She illustrated many futuristic books by Alexey Kruchenykh and Velimir Khlebnikov: Mirskontsa [“The World-from-the-Other-End”] (1912), Igra v adu [“Playing in Hell”] (1912), Vzorval [“Explosion-ness”] (1913), Dve Poemy. Pustynniki. Pustynnitsa [“Two Poems. Hermits. Hermitess”] (1913), Puteshestviye po vsemu svetu [“Travel Across the World”]. In 1912, lithographic postcards with Goncharova’s drawings were published at the initiative of poet Alexey Kruchenykh. In 1914, a separate series of big lithoprints on a patriotic theme entitled “Mystic Images of War” was published.

In 1915, together with her husband Mikhail Larionov, she left Moscow and in 1917 finally settled in Paris. In France she worked with Sergey Diaghilev making designs for his ballets, painted and illustrated books. In her book illustrations of the 1920s, Goncharova returned to icon painting techniques - bright colours, geometricised silhouette, compact space, inverted perspective – complementing them with European book features – initials, decorative border patterns – Skazka o tsare Saltane [“The Tale of Tsar Sultan”] (1921), Slovo o polku Igoreve [“The Lay of Igor’s Campaign”], Munich, Orkhis (1923).